We've been reporting on the EV buses pilot program for some time now and - after many delays - It looks like a launch is right around the corner. But not if City Shuttle Limited has its say. The company - which controls many of the city runs - held a press conference today to say that the business model for E-buses does not work for the existing batch of commuters.
These are the buses city commuters must take daily to get to and from work, school and everything in between. It may not be the most comfortable or cleanest ride to take, but it's dependable, and just about the cheapest ride that you can take in the city.
But they say that progress brings problems and so it is with the new EV buses pilot program which will affect this long established commuting staple.
Today, at the Biltmore, Arthur Saldivar and Philip Jones, representatives of City Shuttle Limited called the press in to criticize the way the new EV bus pilot program was been handled and demanded an honest and transparent discussion on the long term plans for the industry.
Arthur Saldivar, Attorney
"As of late there has been the introduction of buses that were part of a package from the UNDP and it's going through the Belize City council as the main actor in this pilot project as they have called it. Subsequent to the introduction of the buses the mayor had coined an initiative called PPP Public Private Partnership but in this Public Private Partnership that he is seeking to introduce, he is dictating to the private sector players that they are to give up 51% of their holdings in their companies in order to participate. So in reality, without having any stake in the industry of its own and using donor funds, the city council is attempting to pilfer through this PPT private property. It's a bald-face attempt to do by means of economic disadvantage, strong arm from small operators and large that which they have invested their life's blood and experience in - for the case of city Shuttle Limited more than 35 years in developing an industry."
Saldivar says this is not a new cry made to the authorities in fact he says, from the time the EV buses pilot project was introduced two years ago, City Shuttle limited has been in communication with both the UNDP and the Belize City council trying to get an audience to have its concerns tabled - only to be denied.
Arthur Saldivar:
"No dialogue, no negotiation, no room left opened for a participation with dignity in what certainly at this stage can only be viewed as an attempt to forced upon the belizean public a service that no one in the city voted for when they elected the present city council and an initiative that goes so far beyond the mandate of the city council that itis blurring the lines between corporate and public participation in a way that clearly place at an disadvantage the private entity players in the industry."
And what about the rundown city buses? Are there any plans in the pipeline to upgrade or modernize?
Arthur Saldivar:
"Modernization is something that we all want to see but also want it to be sustained and the capacity to sustain lies in those who have experience in that industry. We can all bring something new to the table when it's given to us. We have to also remember the climate in which these operators have to work in. Fiance in Belize and the cost of finance in Belize is prohibitive. So it's not conducive to people taking giant risk and getting 10's of millions of dollars where the cost of getting it, in terms of interest rate is such that before your investment is even realized the bank is coming to take it."
Saldivar states that they are gearing up to take legal action if the council and Mayor do not come to the table for an earnest discussion and a resolution.
Arthur Saldivar
"There are legitimate expectations of private sector players in an industry to be able to continue to operate for as long as they are continuing to fulfill the conditions of their licenses. Where there has been no violation of the license there should not be any act of the regulator of the industry to emanate a compliant actor within that same industry."
"The Olive branch, however, is still being extended. Extended to both the UNDP and the Belize City Council to come to the table responsibly and maturely to address what certainly is something that should be troubling to any Belizean city especially those in the city."
We reached out to Mayor Bernard Wagner today but up news time we hadn't gotten a response.
